Mystic - Carve out a niche in the marketplace, devote yourself to customer service and embrace the community.

Such is the formula for retail success, Michelle Gemma says.

And she should know.

Now the owner of the Mystic Army Navy Stores her late father, Larry Gemma, co-founded in 1993, the 46-year-old Gemma has a legacy to protect.

"We've been here for 20 years," she said this week, seated on a counter in her West Main Street store. "When I became the sole owner, I promised I'd keep it going for another 20 years."

Gemma, who grew up in Noank, has retail in her blood.

Her parents opened A Stitch in Time Boutique in downtown Mystic in 1973. Additional locations followed in the Olde Mistick Village shopping center, Groton, New London and Westerly. Later, after retiring from the Navy, Larry Gemma joined with Bert Dahl, another Navy man, to open the downtown Army Navy store. Three years later, they opened Mystic Army Navy II in Olde Mistick Village.

"It's a landmark in the community," said Tricia Walsh, president of the Greater Mystic Chamber of Commerce. "Larry was a legend. We're so happy to see Michelle carrying it on. The chamber gets calls about the stores all the time. The uniqueness of what they have to offer is really special."

Gemma started working at the downtown store in 1997. When Dahl retired in 2010, she became a co-owner of the business. When her father died this past October, she became the sole owner.

"We have a niche, but it's a very broad niche," Gemma said. "That's why we've been able to survive."

The nearness of such installations as the submarine base and the Coast Guard Academy also helps.